BOSTON -- Alex Cora endeared himself to his new fan base three weeks ago when he candidly acknowledged a mistake. He’d been caught up in his team’s wild rally in the eighth inning. He’d forgotten to lift J.D. Martinez for a defensive replacement when his team went out for the ninth inning. He copped to the mistake two days later.


 


When Sandy Leon strode to the plate with the go-ahead run on second base in Sunday’s eighth inning, one had to [...]

Brian MacPherson

BOSTON -- Alex Cora endeared himself to his new fan base three weeks ago when he candidly acknowledged a mistake. He’d been caught up in his team’s wild rally in the eighth inning. He’d forgotten to lift J.D. Martinez for a defensive replacement when his team went out for the ninth inning. He copped to the mistake two days later.

 

When Sandy Leon strode to the plate with the go-ahead run on second base in Sunday’s eighth inning, one had to wonder if a similar admission would be forthcoming.

 

Leon was hitting an even .100 for the season at that moment. His numbers were so poor across the board that a hit-by-pitch earlier in the game had boosted his on-base percentage by 29 points. Xander Bogaerts, Blake Swihart and Christian Vazquez all were available on the bench -- as was Mookie Betts, though Cora had professed a desire to stay away from Betts and his ailing hamstring.

 

That Leon would be permitted to hit for himself in that spot was surprising, to put it lightly.

 

But Leon delivered in that spot, fighting off an Alex Colome cutter and getting it past the third baseman into short left field. That allowed Martinez to sprint home with the go-ahead run. A half-inning later, Craig Kimbrel finished off his first four-out save of the season as the Red Sox averted a sweep with a 4-3 win over the Tampa Bay Rays.